Diesel driven locomotive



Jan. 26, 1937. F. F. MURRAY DIESEL DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVE Filed Sept. 7, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jan. 26, 1937. F-. F. MURRAY 2,068,864

DIESEL DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVE Filed Sept. 7, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Mfr Jan. 26, 1937. F. F. MURRAY DIESEL DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVE Filed Sept. 7, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 26, 1937. F. F. MURRAY DIESEL DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVE Filed Sept. 7, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 "1 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DIESEL DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVE Frederick F. Murray, Oil City, Pa.

Application September 7, 1934, Serial No. 743,073

4 Claims.

In my prior application Serial No. 540,850, filedvention is furthermore intended to increase the.

power output per pound of weight of the locomotive and to improve the compactness of such a locomotive driven by an internal combustion engine in which the engine is permanently connected' to the driving wheels of the locomotive.

In the drawings which illustrate my invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a locomotive driven by 9. Diesel engine of the opposed piston type with the Diesel permanently connected to the driving wheels, the Diesel being shown principally in section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the axis of the explosive compressor interposed between cylinders of the Diesel for starting the latter, this view being on an enlarged scale as compared with Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IVIV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional viewthrough the head of the explosive compressor shown in Fig. 3, this section being taken along the axis of the compressor but at right angles to Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a view in side. elevation with parts broken away -of "a modified embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is atransverse section on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 illustrates schematically the interconnections between a main crank shaft of the Diesel engine, the crank shaft of the compressor, and the cams actuating the valves which control the operation of the mechanism shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

Internal combustion engines of the opposed piston type have exhibited high efliciency from the point of view of the power developed in comparison with the weight of the engine. Two principal objections have been raised to this type of engine, the first being that due to the fact that two of the cylinders are placed end to end in alinement, the head room necessitated is excessive for some installations; and the second being that means such as side rods or a long series of gears must be provided for interconnecting the crank shafts at the top and bottom of the engine so as to synchronize the opposed pistons.

The clearances which rule the overall height of railroad equipment are such that not even the usual head room for an engine is available on a locomotive. The dead weight constituted by the locomotive itself which must be propelled over 10 the rails is, of course, a factor in emcient operation of the locomotives of a railroad, but obviously the prevailing clearances cannot be. exceeded in order to increase the efliciency of operation.

With a combination of internal combustion 15 engine and driving wheels such as disclosed in the drawings of the present application, an efficient unit is provided which is at the same time an advantageous arrangement from the point of view of compactness. I employ the above-mentioned 20 type of internal combustion engine having opposed pistons for driving the locomotive; and permanently connect the crank shafts at the two ends of this prime mover to the locomotive drivin wheels. The side rods of the locomotive or the 1 equivalent thereof, such as gearing, become in this combination the side rods of the engine interconnecting the two crank shafts.

The locomotive may be started in any suitable manner. The best way known to me is the procedure set forth in the above-mentioned application Serial No. 540,850.

In Fig. 1, the frame of the locomotiveis indicated at l0, being carried by the axles H which rotate with the wheels l2. Side rods l3 journaled 3 5 The crank shafts l1 and ll of the engine 4 project through bearings iii in the frame l0, and driving pinions 20 are secured on the projecting ends of the two crank shafts. Each pinion 20 meshes with a gear 22 fixed to an axle l'l so 50 as to drive the wheels I! along the track. It'will be noted that through the gearing 20, 22, and the side rods i3 connecting the driving wheels I2, the two crank shafts l1 and ii are interconnected, as is necessary in the opposed piston type of internal combustion engine, herein a Diesel engine.

Details of the Diesel engine itself are not given in this application, as such engines are now in commercial use and the specific details of the Diesel construction do not form a part of my invention. These may be more clearly understood by referring to the Patents No. 1,086,793, K. Steinbecker, Feb. 10, 1914, No. 1,623,704, P. L. Scott, Apr. 5, 1927, No. 1,629,878, 0. Mader, May 24. 1927, No. 1,942,571, H. R. Ricardo, Jan. 9, 1934, and the textbook High Speed Diesel Engines by Arthur W. Judge published in 1933 by D. van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York City, which disclose the details of this type of Diesel.

The Diesel cylinders 24 may, if convenient, be cast integral with the frame I0. The usual fuel ports 25 are provided at the mid-point of each cylinder; and there are also provided means for scavenging the cylinders by blowing scavenging air inwardly at one end of the combustion space to be exhausted at the other end. For this pur pose, a blower is provided which delivers scavenging air to the cylinders at the proper time in the cycle of each. The pistons 21 and 28 reach the ends of their strokes simultaneously and as they approach each other, air is compressed between them ready for the injection of fuel through the ports 25, as is customary in the Diesel cycle.

Means may be provided for supplying gaseous combustion products to the cylinders for starting the locomotive in the manner disclosed in the above referred to application Serial No. 540,850. An explosive compressor is shown in Figure 1 interposed between a pair of Diesel cylinders 24. This explosive compressor is shown in greater detail in Figure 3. The compressor cylinder 30 encloses two sleeves, an outer sleeve 3| and an inner sleeve 32, both of which are reciprocable lengthwise of the axis of the cylinder 30. The compressor piston 34 reciprocates within the inner sleeve 32, being driven by a pitman 35 connected to a crank of the crank shaft 31.

The head 38 of the compressor provides an air inlet 39 controlled by an inlet valve 40 which is biased towards its seat by a compression spring 4|. Fuel is pumped by way of a conduit 43 to be injected into the compressor cylinder under the control of a needle valve 44. The timing of the injection of fuel into the compressor is not shown, but is of course synchronized from the crank shaft 37. The fuel nozzle 45 shown is merely illustrative, and any suitable fuel nozzle may be substituted therefor.

The crank shaft 31 is driven by a motor 41, preferably a motor of the internal combustion type. This motor 4'! drives through a gear 48 on its crank shaft a meshing gear 49 on the crank shaft 31.

As explained in the above referred to application Serial No. 540,850, the injection of fuel by way of nozzle 45 is so timed in the cycle of the compressor that combustion takes place shortly prior to the end of the compressing stroke; and the gaseous products of combustion under high pressure and at high temperature are forced into a cylinder 24 of the Diesel to start the same.

The manner of timing and controlling the discharge from the explosive compressor is illustrated diagrammatically in Figures 3 and 5. The

' inner sleeve- 32 is provided with a port or slot 5|,

as indicated in Figure 3. A second port or slot is provided on the directly opposite. side of this sleeve. The outer sleeve 3| is provided with a pair of ports or slots 52 adapted to register with the ports 5|, but the ports 52 on opposite sides of the compressor cylinder are spaced at different distances from the crank shaft 31 so that registration does not take place simultaneously on opposite sides of the compressor cylinder. The inner sleeve 32 is timed in synchronism with the crank shaft 31, a gear 55 on the crank shaft meshing with a gear of equal size 56 which rotates a crank 57 connected by a link 58 to a bracket 59 on the lower end of the sleeve 32. For each revolution of the crank shaft 31, there is a complete reciprocation up and down of the sleeve 32. Accordingly, the ports 5| are brought to discharge position once for each revolution of the crank shaft 31.

The sleeve 3| is timed in synchronism with the main crank shaft I! or II of the Diesel. As these two crank shafts rotate in synchronism, it is immaterial that in the drawings of the present application the compressor is timed by a mechanism driven from the crank shaft IT, as the crank shaft I! might just as well have been selected. As shown, a gear 60 on the crank shaft drives a gear 600. on a jack shaft 6| carrying a spiral gear 6|a which drives a spiral gear 62 on a longitudinal shaft 63. A clutch 64 is interposed in the shaft 63 to stop the operation of the sleeve 3| when the locomotive has been set in motion and the Diesel can run on its own cycle. Through bevel gears 66 and 61 (see Figure 3), the shaft 63 drives a cam shaft 69 on which is fixed a cam 10 having a groove H of appropriate shape. A rocker l2 pivoted at 13 is provided with a roller 14 traveling in the groove H. The other end of the rocker 12 is connected by a link 15 to a bracket 16 on the outer sleeve 3|. The pairs of gears in the drive of the cam shaft 69 are all equal so that accordingly the sleeve 3| is reciprocated up and down once for each revolution of the crank shaft IT. This causes the port or slot 52 on one side of the compressor cylinder to be in registration with the corresponding port or slot 5| only at one stage in the cycle of the crank shaft By such an arrangement, the explosive compressor interposed between two Diesel cylinders 24 is adapted to supply pressure fluid to the two cylinders 24 alternatively for starting the same.

As shown in Figure 5, the port or slot 52 on the lower side of the figure is in registration with a passage 78 leading into the left-hand Diesel cylinder; and as the inner sleeve 32 reciprocates, the port or slot 5| on the left side of the compressor cylinder (as viewed in Figure 5) will control discharge of the hot gases through the left-hand passage 78. As the crank shaft ll revolves, the sleeve 3| is moved so that the left-hand port or slot 52 is no longer in registration with the left-hand passage 18 and the port or slot 52 on the other side of the compressor cylinder is brought into registration with the right-hand passage 18. As the explosive compressor is of no larger capacity than necessary in order to start the Diesel, in order to give the most efiicient operation of the locomotive, it is obvious that the compressor piston 34 will make a large number of reciprocations for each reciprocation of the outer sleeve 3|, and accordingly the inner sleeve 32 will reciprocate rapidly while the outer sleeve 3| will reciprocate relatively slowly.

Once the locomotive has been put in motion and the Diesel is ready to start on its own cycle, the clutch 64 is disengaged, and the cam shaft 69 manually rotated by the hand wheel 80 mounted on shaft 8I which is operatively connected to the cam shaft 69 through bevel gear 82 and bevel gear 61 so as to rotate the cam shaft. A pointer or indicator 83 cooperates with a zero mark on the hand wheel 89 to let the operator know when the outer sleeve 3I has been properly positioned to cut off communication between the compressor cylinder and the Diesel cylinder or cylinders which are supplied with pressure fluid thereby.

While the inlet valve 49 of the compressor may, under the right conditions, operate without other control than the spring 4I, it may be found necessary to control the valve 49 so as to open and close the same under the control of a cam such as the cam 85 shown in Figure 3. This cam 85 is rotated by driving connections from the crank shaft 31, including spiral gears 81 and 89 at one end of a shaft 89, and spiral gears 99 and 9| at the other end thereof. A roller 93 at the adjacent end of a connecting rod 94 travels on the periphery of the cam 85, and the high portion of the cam 85 reciprocates the connecting rod 94 in synchronism with the rotation of the crank shaft 31. A rocker 96 at the other end of the connecting rod 94 transmits this reciprocating motion to the valve 49 to open and close the same. The rocker 96, as shown in Figure 3, engages a head on the stem 98 of an exhaust valve 99, this exhaust valve stem extending through an axial opening in the stem of the valve 49. A light spring I99 biases the exhaust valve 99 to closed position. The rocker 96, in actuating the two valves 49 and 99, compresses first the light spring I99 so as to exhaust the clearance space at the end of the compressing stroke. Further movement of the rocker 96 engages the head on the end of the stem 96 with a head on the end of the stem of valve 49 and causes both the valve 99 and the valve 49 to open and remain open during the suction stroke of the piston 34. The cam 85 then permits both valves to close for the compression stroke of the compressor. The valve 99 is opened at the very end of the compression stroke, and its purpose is merely torelieve the high pressure in the clearance space of the compressor just prior to the opening of the inlet valve 49 to admit a fresh charge of air.

It is within the contemplation of my invention that instead of the simple single-acting type of Diesel shown in Figure 1, double-acting cylinders be provided, it being obvious that heads can be provided at the outer ends of the cylinders 24, together with the appropriate fuelinjecting and waste-gas scavenging devices. The details of such a double-acting Diesel engine of the opposed piston\type need not be given here as they are familiar to those skilled in this art.

The compressor need not be inserted between adjacent Diesel cylinders but instead may be mounted on top of the Diesel engine, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. With such an arrangement, the compressor I93 is provided with a pair of supplemental discharge ports I94 and I94 (see Fig. 8) in addition to the main discharge port I95. The main port I95 is controlled from the crank shaft I96 of the compressor by a cam controlled valve I91 similarly as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3. A spiral gear I98 on the crank shaft I96 drives a spiral gear I99 on a shaft H9. A spiral gear III on the other end of shaft 9 causes rotation of a cam II2 cooperating with a roller II3 on the end of a rod 4. The, other end of the rod 4 is pivoted to a lever II5 which opens and closes valve I91.

The valves H1 and H1 control respectively the ports I 94 and I94 and are actuated by a cam mechanism in synchronism with the crank shaft II8 of the Diesel. A gear I29 on the crank shaft II8 drives a gear I2I on a jack shaft I22. A spiral gear I23 on shaft I22 drives a spiral gear I24 on a shaft I25. A spiral gear I26 on the other end of the shaft I drives a spiral gear I21 on a cam shaft I28. This shaft carries a cam I29 for actuating through a rocker I39 the valve I I1; and likewise carries a cam I29 for actuating through a rocker I39 the valve 1'. The cams I29 and I29 are of course so positioned on the cam shaft I28 that fluid pressure is admitted to the respective Diesel cylinder at the beginning of the outward strokes of the pistons therein. The two valves H1 and 1' open alternatively; and if the cranks of the pistons of the main Diesel engine are at 180 with respect to each other, the output of thecompressor is continuous, being directed through the valve II1 half of the time and through the valve II1 the other half of the time.

After the Diesel" is started on its own cycle, the clutch I32 is operated by the shifting lever I33 to discontinue the operation of the valves H1 and H1. The hand wheel I34 is then op-. erated to move the cam shaft I28 tosuch position that both the valve H1 and the valve II1 are closed. The pointer I35 assists in enabling the operator to determine this position of the cam shaft I28. 4

The discharge valve I91 of the explosive compressor, being timed by the crank shaft of the compressor, opens for each discharge stroke of thecompressor piston. The valves I94 and I94 open alternatively, and pressure fluid is delivered to whichever valve I94 or I94 is open, in accordance with the cycle of the main Diesel engine. In order to cut down theclearance space of the Diesel cylinders, poppet valves I31 and I38 are provided adjacent the inlets to the Diesel cylinders, these valves being spring-pressed toward their seats so .as to close when pressure fluid is not being pumped into the respective Diesel cylinder.

A further modification of my invention can be made by a simple change in the manner and place of injecting fuel for starting the Diesel. In accordance with this modification, the starting compressor is operated purely as an air compressor. The air is delivered under high pressure and at a high temperature (due to the compression) into a Diesel cylinder 24, and fuel is injected into the respective Diesel cylinder 24. At the high pressure and temperature generated by the compressor, the injected fuel is burned; and in this way the Diesel engine is started. With such a principle of operation, the compressor may be continuously operated, constituting in fact a part of the Diesel engine; as the air for supporting combustion is,'in accordance with this mode of operation, compressed outside 'of the Diesel engine and injected, the combustion taking place within the Diesel engine.

While I have illustrated and described various ways in which my invention may be applied to the driving of a locomotive by :3. Diesel engine permanently connected to the wheels, it will be understood that various modifications and changes or omission of details of the construction may be made within the contemplation of my invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a locomotive, at least two pairs of driving wheels for engaging the track, an internal combustion engine of the opposed piston type arranged with the cylinders substantially horizontal, said engine comprising opposed pistons and crank shafts arranged at opposite ends of the engine, meshing gears permanently connecting one of said crank shafts to a pair of driving wheels, meshing gears permanently connecting the other of said crank shafts to a different pair of driving wheels, means for starting said internal combustion engine under load, and common means for synchronizing the rotation of said pairs of driving wheels and the crank shafts connected thereto.

2. In a locomotive, at least two pairs of driving wheels for engaging the track, an internal combustion engine of the opposed piston type arranged with the bylinders substantially horizontal, said engine comprising opposed pistons and crank shafts arranged at opposite ends of the engine for driving said wheels, there being a pair of said driving wheels adjacent each crank shaft and each crank shaft being permanently connected in driving relation to the adjacent pair of driving wheels, means for delivering hot gaseous products of combustion under high pressure into-the engine cylinders intermediate the opposed pistons for starting the locomotive, and common means for synchronizing the rotation of said pairs of driving wheels and the crank shafts connected thereto.

3. In a locomotive, driving wheels for engaging the track, an internal combustion engine of the opposed piston type arranged with the cylinders substantially horizontal, said engine comprising opposed pistons and crank shafts arranged at opposite ends of the engine, operative driving connections permanently connecting each crank shaft to a different pair of the driving wheels, a compressor for starting said engine under load comprising a compressor cylinder immediately adjacent the engine cylinders, means for discharging gaseous products of combustion from the compressor cylinder into the engine cylinders intermediate the opposed pistons for starting the engine, a prime mover for actuating said compressor, and common means for synchronizing the rotation of the crank shafts and of the driving wheels.

4. In a locomotive, at least two pairs of driving wheels for engaging the track, an internal combustion engine of the opposed piston type arranged with the cylinders substantially horizontal, said engine comprising opposed pistons and crank shafts arranged at opposite ends of the engine, operative driving connections permanently connecting one of said crank shafts to a pair of driving wheels, operative driving connections permanently connecting the other of said crank shafts to a different pair of driving wheels, means for starting said internal combustion engine under load, and common meansfor synchronizing the rotation of said pairs of driving wheels and the crank shafts connected thereto.

FREDERICK F. MURRAY. 

